Showing posts with label state budget. Show all posts
Showing posts with label state budget. Show all posts

Thursday, January 09, 2014

California Gov. Brown's State Stem Cell Spending Figures

California Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed budget contains numbers for the state's stem cell agency although he can do nothing legally about its spending, even if he wanted to.

That's because the agency was created in such a manner that neither the governor or the legislature can get their fingers on stem cell research dollars. The idea was to protect research from politics. So Prop. 71, the 10,000-word ballot initiative that created the agency, made changes in both the state constitution and state law that gave the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) unique autonomy.

Brown's proposed budget does cast CIRM spending in a different light than seen in the agency's budget presentations. It shows that CIRM spending is expected to rise from $213 million in 2012-13 to $293 million in 2014-15, nearly all of which goes for research awards. The agency has legal authority to tap $300 million a year from money that the state borrows and that goes directly to the agency.

The proposed budget also projects 59.5 employees at the San Francisco-based agency in 2014-15 compared to 56.7 in 2012-13. Projected operating expenses amount to $15.6 million for 2014-15, compared to a $13.8 million in 2012-13. 

Both figures are interesting in light of CIRM's figures that show that its operational budget for the current fiscal year exceeds $17 million. No reason for the discrepancy was immediately available, but we suspect it is probably a case of different methods of accounting or perhaps off-the-mark figures from the stem cell agency to the state Department of Finance, which compiles the state spending plan.

The agency operates under a spending cap of 6 percent of its total expenditures, also imposed by Prop. 71. It will run out of cash for awards in 2017 and is currently trying to devise a way to finance its future operations. Another bond issue, which requires voter approval, has not been ruled out, but most of the discussion focuses on some sort of public-private partnership at a level much diminished from $300 million annually.

While Brown cannot chip away at CIRM spending by the usual state process, the agency does take notice of his desire for sharp-eyed budgeting. A few years ago, the agency cut back on out-of-state travel after Brown announced restrictions for other state agencies.

Monday, May 14, 2012

California Budget Slashing Misses Stem Cell Agency

The $3 billion California stem cell agency dodged the governor's financial knife today.

This morning, Gov. Jerry Brown announced sweeping cuts throughout California state government as he attempted to close a new, $15.7 billion deficit. A report in the Los Angeles Times said the governor was "grabbing any spare change available." But this afternoon, in response to a query, Kevin McCormack, CIRM's spokesman, said,
"The answer is no, we won't be affected."
The question arose because California's financial picture is much bleaker than it was just four months ago. And the stem cell agency's only real source of cash is money borrowed by the state -- general obligation bonds.

Under Prop. 71, which created the agency in 2004, the bond funds flow directly to the agency without intervention by the legislature or the governor. However, Brown has been chary of additional bond sales since they create an increasing burden in the form of interest costs. Those costs must be financed out of money that otherwise might go to the University of California, K-12 schools and medical help for the poor.

Under an agreement arrived at last year, CIRM has what amounts to a $225 million line of credit with the state, which should take care of its needs until January. The cash is coming from short-term borrowing by the state instead of bonds.

The Brown Administration has cut back on bond borrowing and intends to cut more this fall. According to the state Department of Finance, the cost of borrowing has declined $173 million this fiscal year, down to $5.2 billion. CIRM's share of the debt service is more than $200,000 a day.  

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